South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley says it is time to move past her Final Four skirmish with UConn coach Geno Auriemma that became the talk of the tournament. Staley released a statement on South Carolina's X account on Tuesday in which she expressed her respect for Auriemma and said the two have spoken since South Carolinas 62-48 victory on Friday night. The season ended with UCLA's runaway 79-51 win over South Carolina in Sunday's national championship game. "With the college womens basketball season behind us, its time to move forward and close the chapter on how our semifinal game with UConn ended," Staley wrote in her statement. "I spoke with Geno and I want to be clear I have a great deal of respect for him and what hes meant to the game. One moment doesnt define a career and it doesnt change the impact hes had on growing womens basketball. "The standard at UConn is what it is because of him, and thats something this game has benefited from. So Im asking everyone to turn the page. Lets refocus on what matters most, continuing to elevate our game, creating opportunities and pushing it forward. Thats always been my mission, and its not changing." Staley's statement followed Auriemma's apology on Saturday after he went over to Staley in the final seconds of Friday night's game and appeared to chastise her. Coaches from both teams had to separate them. When the game finally ended, Auriemma walked off the court to the locker room without going back to shake hands with anyone from South Carolina. [Women's CBK AP Top 25: National Champion UCLA is The Final No. 1 of 2025-2026] "Theres no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina," Auriemma said in his statement on Saturday. "Its unlike what I do and what our standard is here at Connecticut. I want to apologize to the staff and the team at South Carolina. It was uncalled for in how I reacted. The story should be how well South Carolina played, and I dont want my actions to detract from that. Ive had a great relationship with their staff, and I sincerely want to apologize to them." Reporting by The Associated Press.